Day 31/365 ~ 2012

Ready for school!
The red cowboy boots, "mermaid tails" and puppy were her contribution to this outfit.
She has her own sense of style.  :)

Day 30/365 ~ 2012

A day off school.
Bowling followed by Happy Meals.
This is the "good stuff."
I truly love being with my kids.

Day 29/365 ~ 2012

Sewing a star on Andrew's Tae Kwon Do uniform turned into a sewing adventure for Matthew.
He made a wallet!  (This was prior to all of the coloring/decorating).  And loved it.  Matthew is my builder/maker/constructor. 



...And this was his delight over zig zag stitch! :)
A little night time fun.

Day 28/265 ~ 2012

Bugaboo.
Buggy.
Kitti.
Katiebug.
Katie.
Lovie.
Love.
Our many nicknames for Kaitlin at the age of nearly ~ 4.

Day 27/365 ~ 2012

Just more almost-4-sweetness.

Day 26/365 ~ 2012

....Kaitlin shortly before she turned 3.



...And as we count down the days until 4.
What a drastic change.
A little lady has emerged before my very eyes.
I don't even want to think what the growth that the next year holds.
I just want to savor this moment.

25/365 ~ 2012

Future black belts!
(Or not....we're good, either way. :) )
Day one of Tae Kwon Do class for the boys.  Andrew was SO excited to be back & his instructor told me he was happy to see him.  He did a great job!  A little silly at the end of class, but it's really wonderful to see him maturing and succeeding in these classes.  Yay, Andrew! 

Matthew loved his class as well and did a great job!  It's so interesting to me how Matthew's competitiveness doesn't come out quite as much in team sports, but he's very competitive in individual sports.

It's going to be fun to see how these two grow over the six month commitment.

24/365 ~ 2012

Matthew finally starts Tae Kwon Do!
He watched Andrew for 6 months, and really wanted to do it too.
His introduction class was today, and while I (sadly) had to miss it, Dan reported that he was "over the moon" excited.
I asked how he did, and Dan said he was "very precise."



It'll be fun to see if his enthusiasm for this sport continues.
I think it's well suited to him.



It was also Pajama day at Pre-School!

I had to take Andrew to OT, but Shannon gave me these great photos....
The kids had "breakfast" at school.



(Doubt she ate much of it...she is horribly picky).

Katie's cute little class.



And gym time is always a favorite.



This photo cracked me and Dan up.  You can get a sense of how crazy and loud it is in there.  :) And also how much fun they have.  Thank you, Shannon for the great pictures!!

23/365 ~ 2012

"I'm going to give you the BIG, BIG, BIGGEST HUG!"  
Then a run and a big squeeze would follow.
Over, and over, and over. :)

22/365 ~ 2012

Our little mimic.



Though she definitely emulates people...



She definitely has strong opinions about what she likes & doesn't like.
It's fun to watch this little person evolve.
And while I know it's not all about me,
sometimes I do feel like she was made just for me.
Such a sweet little blessing.

21/365 ~ 2012

The Bug in her Christmas gift from Nana.
I wished for this!!!" She exclaimed over & over.
She was a Twirling, Spinning, happy little Princess.
The other day she said to me, "I just love girl things, Mama."
Me too, sweetheart.

Day 20/365 ~ 2012

Our afternoon after school routine.
A cup of tea for me while the boys do their reading with me.
I enjoy this time with the boys.



I hung artwork outside the kindergarten room today.
I always love to see what the kids had to say. 
5 & 6 year olds have the sweetest little hearts.
Andrew's made me smile.
(This looks like mittens ~ but they're supposed to be hands.  The kids traced their hands and then cut them out).

Day 19/365 ~ 2012

After a wonderful snow day at home with the kids, the routine of life resumes.
 This photo was a perfect depiction of how I felt about it....
The line on the left are cars waiting to get into the school parking lot.
(Yes Mom, I was stopped when I took this photo).  :)

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Day 18/365 ~ 2012

Snow Day! School was cancelled, and we woke up to this....



Andrew was in tears over the tree falling.



It was raining and the snow was quickly turning to slush.



This was a fun climbing tree though. And really, not so bad as we had planned to replace it with an evergreen this summer.



The kids didn't mind the rain and had a great time.





We've had a fun snowy stretch, but it's coming to an end as rain finishes out the week in the weather forecast.

15/365 ~ 2012

Our bi-annual family get together with dear friends.
Sweet Georgia was named after me. "Georgia Kathleen."
She gave me hug after hug when leaving and said, "I wish we could see you more often."
Such a sweet girl.



Steve brought his soda maker and mixed drinks for us....He was giving Demos for the boys.  We told him if he ever leaves IBM he can be a sample guy at Costco!



We watched "Dolphin Tale" and had a entertaining round of "Wii Sing Disney."  Prompting a lot of laughs.  Kaitlin & Joy weren't seen all afternoon ~ dressing up & playing with dolls.  Likewise with Andrew & Jackson who were off on all sorts of adventures.  The kids get along great ~ relaxing, laid back day!

Day 14/365 ~ 2012

Dan used a shovel to scrape up enough of the snow from our dusting for a snowman.



...Or more like a snowbaby, that was melting in his hand as I took this photo.

Day 13/365 ~ 2012

Andrew & his "Spy Cars."
Lego Building is an around-the-clock job around here.

Day 12/365 ~ 2012

"Oooh, I'm a little chilly, Mama. I need some hot chocolate."
I think this comes out of the Bug's mouth every day.
She shares my affinity for chocolate and warm drinks.

Day 11/365 ~ 2012

Matthew is truly a little scientist by nature.
Day 1 of his afternoon "Mad Science" Jr. Space camp class.
He loved it.

Day 10/365 ~ 2012

I love watching and listening to these 2 play together.
They are such sweet friends & do the funniest things.
Watching a movie under umbrellas with their blankies & lovies on a lazy morning.

Day 9/365 ~ 2012

Matthew got into the van after school with his nose buried in a book that he checked out from the school library that day.  By dinner time he was done with it!  I really hope he grows up to be a reader (my hope for all my kids). It keeps us learning & growing when we read.

Day 8/365 ~ 2012

A family outing to see Puss 'n Boots.
Liberty Theater, downtown Camas.
We hope to support this locally owned movie theater more in the future.
Built in 1927 ~ it has charm & you can't beat the $3.50 admission!

Day 7/365 ~ 2012

While Dan & I worked on taking down Christmas, Katie & Andrew took advantage of the beautiful weather.  I love the golden setting sun on Andrew's face.  Not to mention that great expression.



These to just keep growing closer.  They are great buddies.  If Kaitlin were bigger they'd look like twins!

Day 6/365 ~ 2012

This little turkey was my "helper" while I volunteered in Andrew's class today.
I copied, folded, stapled little booklets in the eopy room while Kaitlin took them from the table I was working on to a table behind me.
I supervised until I was confident that she had a routine and wasn't getting into trouble. ...Until I heard her say, "Do you want to help me draw the circles?"
I turned to see that she had drawn a purple crayon circle on the cover of the last 10 books I put together!
Such a helper....

Day 5/365 ~ 2012

Heading out for a quick errand to IKEA.
Just looking so cheerful she had to be the "picture of the day."

Day 4/365 ~ 2012

I only have eyes for you....

Day 3/365 ~ 2012

Back to school & the dropping off/picking up routine.
I miss having the kids home all day ~ schedule free.
Is it too soon to start counting down until summer?

Day 2/365 ~ 2012

The Bug was snuggling my throw on my bed on a lazy morning.
"The Muppets", Yahtzee, and Chutes & Ladders....
A relaxing last day of christmas vacation.
Sad to see it go....